The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1887-08-18
A PIT OF HORROR.
Dragged into BOttOmless Swamp by
. - Reptiles.

has lived in Southern Georgia neal
the Florida line, not far from Okef
mckee Swamp (trembling EARTH fol
a long time "but the most horrible
sight | ever beheld was one which
greeted my eyes on the occasion Of
an alligator hunt. way back in the
fifties, not long after | had moved to
that part of the county.
"Okefnokee swamp is a very large
tract or waste, which extends over a
large part Of Southern Georgia and
part of Florida. The swamp is i'm
passable in great many places, and
is very dangerous to Adventures, be-
ing interspersed here and there with
treacherous holes, which show moth
ing on the surface except what APP
pears to the inexperienced eye tract
of mud and water no more than a
foot deep. The unlucky explorers
who tries to wade through such plac-
es find, however, that they are often
twenty and thirty feet deep, and 50
narrow that they are more like big
wells making escape from death i'm
possible, after having once gotten in
to one of these fatal traps. The
swamp abounds in alligators, and |
was one Of a party bent upon an al
ligator hunt one day in the early
spring of 1853 From the nature of
the swamp it ls possible to row BOAT
in great many places for several
miles without coming upon any OBJ
struction, but in other places it is
simply impossible to go otherwise
than on foot, picking your way as
best you can in the marshy. lowlsnds-
On the occasion referred to we went
as far as possible in our boat, getting
out at point not tar from the Flori-
da line end continuing on loot. There
were four in the party, negro to
row the boat, an Englishman named
Dutton and friend of his who had
only arrived day or two before.
Dutton was a whole-souled fellow,
generous to a fault and a splendid
marksman. We had been on many
hunts together and in many tight
places, and his perfect self-possession
in cases of emergency impressed me
with feeling of respect for him. In
order to kill an alligator with rifle
it is necessary to pierce its eyes, as
the scales render the balance of its
body bullet-proof, and | never saw
Dutton mies but one ip our daily
hunting.
"When we landed and proceeded
on foot, Dutton, as was usual, went
in front, ais friend near him, then
came up the old darby, and | brought
up the rear. We had gone no more
than two miles before the swamp be-
came rough and dense, and, as it was
getting late in the evening, we call
ed halt and decided to return to
our boat before the night caught us
in the swamp. We were all ready to
90 except DuttOn, who was some dis
lance ahead and was not in sight. |
told the old negro to go and tell him
to return, and he had just started in
obedience to my command when the
blood in my veins was chilled by an
awful shrek for help. If | live for
100 years | shall never forget that
cry. 1t seemed to come from the d.
rection to the right of us, direction
none of W.. had taken, and which
Dutton could oAly have followed by
turning directly away from the line
we had mapped out on starting. AS
the last note of that awful cry died
away looked at the old darby who
had started to do my bidding, but he
seemed paralyzed and became SC
weak he could hardly stand. The
only words | could hear from hi,
half-open lips as [ ran past him il
the direction IRON whence the sounC
came were "lt's no use to 90 aftel
him, master; it's no use, Dutton'i
friend followed me quickly, and W,
had not gone more than a hundred
yards when insight met my ewes tn,
| like of which | would rather under
go death than again to encounter
In an open space in front of me wai
what appeared to be a marshy stretcl
Of perhaps ten yards square. i
looked like its bottom was right Oh
the surface OF the earth, and l woulC
have attempted to ade across il
without any hesitation except for the
sight that met my frightened gaze
| In the midst Of the sink was Dutton
struggling as if with some invisible
power that was drawing my friend
beneath the surface of this hole Of
slime and filth.
"Around his body, coiled in sick,
ening masses. were reptiles of every
description, in which 0kefnokeC
swamp aboud5, and his cries fol
help we're piteeus. When we first
saw him he was at the edge Of the
hole, but by the time we had reach.
ed there the reptiles had pulled him
struggling as he was, into the centre